Twenty-eight seniors shared their projects at the inaugural myExperience Senior Showcase.
Family, friends, mentors, faculty, and staff came to see our seniors share their college-level research projects.
All of the projects were impressive, and students were articulate and enthusiastic as they talked about their work and what they learned.
Adela Calzada ’24 was one of six students who received an award of distinction for her project. She choreographed and filmed an original dance, and she screened it in the Wiener Theater during the showcase.
Lara Eason ’24 earned an award of distinction for her work analyzing chemicals in fish in the Little Red River in Arkansas.
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Seniors Display Capstone Projects at myExperience Showcase
Our inaugural graduating class of the myExperience program presented their capstone projects with confidence, poise, and enthusiasm at our first myExperience Senior Showcase.
Twenty-eight Hutchison seniors celebrated finishing their myExperience projects by presenting them to family, mentors, faculty and staff, and friends. The flagship program within Hutchison’s Institute for Responsible Citizenship, myExperience is a multi-year opportunity that allows a girl to select from one of four cohorts — STEM, Entrepreneurship, Art & Design, and Global Civic Engagement. Each girl then studies an area of interest in depth and develops a college-level research project related to that interest. The development of her project includes working with a professional mentor, completing a summer internship or other relevant experience, and planning a trip to a U.S. city where she may explore her project’s area of focus in detail.
At our Senior Showcase, we celebrated our seniors' hard work and success by providing the opportunity for our girls to share their final projects with family, friends, mentors, faculty, and staff. A few of the 28 projects included:
Studying the effects of pollution on the Memphis aquifer
Choreographing and filming an original dance
Analyzing chemicals in fish in the Little Red River in Arkansas
Investigating the implications of language barriers on healthcare access and patient safety
Writing and illustrating a children’s book about coral bleaching
Curating a social media account that highlights different opportunities for service
Interviewing medical professionals about the impact of technology on the medical field
“An overarching aim of the Institute is to develop young women into people who can take on the world when they leave us and go to college,” said Nick Simpson, Director of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. “We want to inspire girls to become innovators who are doing new, exciting, and dynamic things. We want to encourage girls to find their leadership style, see themselves as members of a global community, and seek ways in which they can serve, augment, and improve the world around them. Lastly, we want them to invest in themselves, in their academics, in their projects, in their relationships with their communities. We want them to invest in ways that bring them joy and growth over time.”
All of the projects were impressive, and students were articulate and enthusiastic as they talked about their work and what they learned. Six awards of distinction were given out to the following students: Adela Calzada, Jordan Deupree, Lara Eason, Izzy Ellis, Olivia Lester, and Elizabeth Soefker. We are proud of how our girls have grown through the myExperience program. Congratulations to all of our senior myExperience graduates!
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As part of a State of Tennessee initiative, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development recognized how Hutchison has made a difference in local and state communities for over 100 years.
Tyler Jones ’25 hasn’t had the easiest journey. After a long road to recovery from a knee injury, she worked even harder and signed to play Division I basketball for the University of New Mexico.
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Meagan Thornton ’12, the lead pharmacist at CaryRx, a digital pharmacy based in Washington, D.C., that provides access to pharmaceutical services online.
On WREG’s “Live at 9,” Dr. Ring, Hailey Litzsey ’25, and Malie Youngblood ’28 exemplified our mission of empowering girls to become confident leaders who know how to use their voices effectively.
If you have ovaries, you can learn a lot from spending time with Vanessa Ross, CNM, MSCP, Class of 1991. Let’s say hormones are wreaking havoc with your life and your doctor dismisses the symptoms with “it’s all in your head.” According to Ross, you should respond with: “Yes. You’re right. My brain is literally changing, and my body is reacting. My symptoms are real.”
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For her myExperience capstone project, part of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, Millie Malone ’25 held a voter registration drive where a representative from the League of Women Voters assisted our girls in registering.
Parents heard from Eraina Schauss, Ph.D., one of the nation’s leading experts in the field of pediatric mental health, about the evidence that supports Hutchison’s new cell phone policy.
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Elizabeth Gonda ’16, a care manager at Healthfirst based out of New York who serves over 130 people and helps them with healthcare.